The Freudian hypothesis of cultural pessimism, of the importance of drive-ridden coercion for cultural development and, finally, of the origin of culture with the murder of the father of the primitive horde followed by the taboo of incest and the prohibition of murder is questioned.

The civilizational process is part of the animal drive activity and of the Darwinian theory of the social instinct. According to work by Damasio and Elias, the process of civilization is inserted, with its innate component in the animal world. Recent anthropological studies have also been considered.

The ability to symbolise is a provision inserted in the taboo of incestuous desire, a desire connected with generalised sexuality. This aptitude makes it necessary to choose between immediate and distant, individual and collective interests, a choice that opens the door to murderous tendencies.

Evolution is not linear; it is riddled with civilizational catastrophes and setbacks. Benjamin sees progress as a catastrophe. Elias insists on reducing social violence and improving living conditions. However, despite the past and present dramas, it is as if Darwin's social instinct influences the underlying dynamics of economic evolution and social struggles, a dynamic that seems to combine pessimism of the heart with the optimism of intelligence.